http://www.sportsfilter.com/user/kyrilmitch_76 New links and comments. en-us http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Wordzilla/0.58 10 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12143/love-sport-going-bowling In College Football's dystopian landscape there are a few gems that beg to be watched, one of those games is the Sugar Bowl match-up between Hawaii and Georgia. What can be said about college football’s bowl season? 32 games over 19 days, 23 teams with at least five losses a convoluted and oversaturated world that renders all but the final game meaningless. Perhaps the worst match-up would be the already played New Orleans Bowl featuring two 7-5 teams in FAU and Memphis. In College Football’s dystopian landscape there are a few gems that beg to be watched. One of those games is the Sugar Bowl match-up between #10 Hawaii and #4 Georgia. I know that the Patriots are still pursuing perfection but honestly that story has been hogging the media spotlight since they beat the Colts on November 4th and they still have an awful long way to go. I love the Pats dearly but this is basically a meaningless game with the mild curiosity factor of whether or not Belichick plays his starters into the fourth quarter to protect a 21 point lead. The Sugar Bowl on the other hand is to me the most interesting match-up of the college football season. It is one of just nine bowl games that features two ranked opponents and one of just five bowl games featuring two teams ranked in the top 16 (bowl games good enough to rival any playoff game). On the most basic level this should be a great game to watch as Hawaii’s electric offense will try to keep things close. On a deeper level this game is the type that stirs up controversy as the winner can immediately be held up as an example of the need for a playoff format and the loser will immediately be used by the BCS crowd as a reason why the system works. If Hawaii were able to pull off the upset then they can easily say, “Not only were we undefeated but we capped it off by beating a major conference team ranked #4 in the country, what else do you want from us?” Hawaii represents the latest gate crasher, the most recent in a long line of little teams just looking for a chance. Statistically they are the 3rd best offense in the country and the 33rd ranked defense. It must be pointed out however that of Hawaii’s 530 yards per game 450 come through the air and they actually have one of the least productive rushing offenses in the country. Five of their 12 wins were by 7 points or less including an overtime victory over Louisiana Tech and when we look at Hawaii’s staunch defense it would be a good time to point out Hawaii’s strength of schedule that includes such luminaries as Northern Colorado and Charleston Southern. So really what we are looking at is a totally one-dimensional offense and a defense that has never been tested. I still expect Hawaii to show up to play and keep this one exciting. On the other hand in a season in which just winning is monumental Georgia has won their last six games. They have averaged just over 34 points per game and won by an average of 12.5 per game in those six wins which included three ranked opponents (Florida, Auburn and Kentucky). If Hawaii is the barbarian at the gate then the Georgia Bulldogs are a classic example of the old guard. Georgia has won two consensus national championships (1942 and 1980). There have been literally dozens of all Americans who played for the Bulldogs from Champ Bailey to Fran Tarkenton (yes that Fran Tarkenton, how many did you think that there were) and two Heisman Trophy winners (Frank Sinkwich in 1942 and Herschel Walker in 1982). If not for an early October thumping at the hands of Tennessee then Georgia would have won the SEC East and had an inside track at both the SEC title and with just one loss the National Title. The question is will this be a big letdown game for a team that could have achieved so much more or will the Bulldogs show up with something to prove. While some could contend that this season no team has a compelling argument that they were left out, I think that you could just as easily argue that there are easily a dozen teams who could make an argument for inclusion. Having 2-loss LSU in the title game only shows that if you include them than you have to look at every team with 2 or fewer losses and say well why not them, a short list that includes the two teams in the “title game”, the two teams in the sugar bowl, 1-loss Kansas and at 2-losses BYU, WVU, VT, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arizona State, and USC. I am not saying that LSU is an unworthy opponent all that I am saying is that if the BCS dinosaurs would simply get over themselves and institute a simple 16 team playoff system all of these idiotic debates would go away. Fans would have far more compelling match-ups as there would be fifteen playoff games with every team in every game ranked in the top 16. Revenue would skyrocket proportionally to the ratings which would skyrocket because every fan would watch just about every game. Most of the major bowls could be incorporated into a playoff format if the NCAA saw fit. Not only would the major bowls benefit by having far better match-ups but the lesser bowls would then have a wider talent pool from which to choose increasing their chances of creating a watchable game. I guess that the point is that while the Sugar Bowl looks to be a great match-up between to quality teams wouldn’t it be great if we had fifteen match-ups just like this spread out over four weeks that ultimately led to a true champion? I can be reached via email at kyrilmitch_76@yahoo.com with questions or comments. Background information for this article was found at Yahoo.com, Rivals.com and Georgiadogs.com. Fri, 28 Dec 2007 06:11:08 -0500 kyrilmitch_76 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12143/love-sport-going-bowling#discuss tag:sportsfilter.com,2002:weblog.12143 sports commentary, 12143 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/9424/ok-go <i>Some college coaching departures are different than others </i>article By TheQatarian Fri, 21 Dec 2007 06:41:29 -0500 kyrilmitch_76 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/9424/ok-go#discuss tag:sportsfilter.com,2002:weblog.9424 sports football, 9424 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12141/love-sport-playoffs-playoffs The 8-6 Minnesota Vikings will play host to the 7-7 Washington Redskins, it's a playoff storyline with a lot of interesting subplots. For the record, I believe that Jim Mora now has a copyright on the phrase Playoffs so if you say the word in disbelief you have to pay him some kind of royalty. I am unclear whether or not that includes written text. Jim, feel free to send me a bill if you are reading this. The NFC playoff picture is definitely coming into focus and one of the pivotal games that will determine who takes one step closer to glory and who goes the way of the Moras is the Sunday night match-up on NBC where the 8-6 Minnesota Vikings will play host to the 7-7 Washington Redskins. The Vikings have a one game lead over the Redskins for the final NFC playoff spot and a win for the Vikings would all but clinch the spot (depending on the outcome of the Saint’s 1 pm game). A win for the Redskins would create a two-way tie (or three-way, again depending on the Saints) with the Redskins having the first tiebreaker over the Vikings. There are several early bowl games that include the likes of Boston College, UCLA and Navy but even a nice Pacific Life Holiday Bowl match-up between Arizona State and Texas is no match for a game that could actually send a team to a real playoff. That would be where they in fact award a real trophy at the end of those playoffs to a real champion. Before anyone gets all up in arms about the significance and history of the college bowl season how important could bowls actually be if coaches like West Virginia’s Rich Rodriguez and Navy’s Paul Johnson would actually quit their jobs before the bowl game. Could you imagine any NFL coach quitting to take another job a week or two before his team was playing in the playoffs? Minnesota is the Vegas favorite in the game currently favored by 6.5 points. They are also one of the hottest teams in football riding a five game winning streak. The also have an offense that features the next big thing in Adrian Peterson. What’s not to like? Well, for starters the seven teams that the Vikings have beaten (Bears twice) have a combined winning percentage of just .408. Their victories include just two teams with winning records in San Diego and the Giants but four teams (Atlanta, Chicago, Oakland and San Francisco) at 5-9 or worse. While we are on the subject of question marks the biggest question mark for the Vikings has to be the play of Tarvaris Jackson. His production (1516 yards passing, 6 TD and 10 INT) is not good even for a guy who has played in just 10 games. The million dollar question is are the Vikings peaking at the right time or is this simply a case of a team taking advantage of a soft schedule? More importantly, how long will it be before opposing coaches realize that the Vikings are 30th in the NFL in passing offense and start overloading the box with 8 and 9 guys to stop Peterson and Chester Taylor? The only thing worse than Minnesota’s passing offense is their passing defense which ranks dead last in the NFL. I like the Vikings chances in this game and I like their chances of making the playoffs but I really wouldn’t look for them to go to far once they get there. The Washington Redskins have faced real adversity this year. Not just sports cliché adversity but with the passing of Sean Taylor this team has truly tried to rally together and depend on each other for support and comfort. Beyond the tragic passing of Sean Taylor the Redskins have other football related problems. The Skins have nine players on the Injured Reserve list and two others including starting quarterback Jason Campbell listed as out for the game. I think that it was Han Solo who once said, “Where did you dig up this old fossil.” Todd Collins is part of the weird underbelly of pro sports, never quite retiring and never quite making it. At 36 years old it has been 13 years since Collins left the Maize and Blue winning his final collegiate game in the Holiday Bowl versus Colorado State. From 1995 to 1997 he was with the Bills playing in 28 games and passing for 2,367 yards and 12 TD in his final season. Then he was off to the Chiefs were he literally didn’t enter a game for three years and only played in 12 games from 2001 to 2005. In March of 2006 Collins signed as a free agent with the Redskins and last year for the fourth time in his career he didn’t enter a game all season. Since Campbell went down Collins hasn’t been glamorous but he has been quietly efficient in leading the Skins to two straight victories for the first time since weeks one and two. If ever you wanted to root for a little guy to get one more day in the sun then Todd Collins is your guy. Look for the Redskins to make use of the incredibly talented Clinton Portis who sprinted for 126 yards and a TD last week and pass as needed. It’s a playoff storyline with a lot of interesting subplots. Part of what makes sports so interesting is that it truly is reality TV. Real people with amazing skills like Portis and Peterson but also guys struggling to hold there own like Collins and Jackson. Who needs to vote someone off of an Island when you have week 16 of the NFL. Angry members of the Rose Bowl selection committee and indignant fans of 6-6 Nevada (Invited to the New Mexico bowl obviously for their strong 4-4 showing in the WAC) can reach me via email at kyrilmitch_76@yahoo.com. I can be found on the web at http://kyrilmitch.googlepages.com/home. Background information and stats from Yahoo.com and Wikipedia.org and Vegas odds from Vegasinsider.com. Fri, 21 Dec 2007 06:36:46 -0500 kyrilmitch_76 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12141/love-sport-playoffs-playoffs#discuss tag:sportsfilter.com,2002:weblog.12141 sports commentary, 12141 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12138/love-sport-look-back Now seems as good a time as any to look back at five of the biggest stories that dominated the sports landscape this year. It may be a little early for the sort of year-in-review retrospective that journalists have been mailing in from tropical resorts for years. I must say though that in the upcoming weeks the calendar gets busier and busier with NFL teams jockeying for playoff position and the college bowl season in full swing. Now seems as good a time as any to look back at five of the biggest stories that dominated the sports landscape this year. I will preface by saying that some events like the tragic passing of Sean Taylor transcend sport and I will not marginalize the death of a human being by editorializing it. So in no particular order here’s my list. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his step-mother Teresa Earnhardt proved that sometimes it is best not to mix business and family. Some sports fans may not even have been aware of this story but to the millions of die-hard NASCAR fans around the country this was the only story that had their attention starting in February when Dale Jr. demanded a 51% ownership stake in the team that his deceased father founded Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. Imagine the soap opera if Vlad Guerrero demanded 51% ownership of the Angels or he would leave. Now imagine that Angel’s owner Arturo Moreno is Vlad’s stepfather and the name of the team is the Vlad Seniors. While that would give you a rough idea of the drama that unfolded it still doesn’t completely capture the melodrama because for the fifth straight year Dale Earnhardt Jr. was hands down the fans most popular driver (receiving 36% of the vote among all drivers) in the sport. Fast forward to May when Earnhardt Jr. announced that negotiations had failed and that he would be leaving DEI at the end of the season. Then in June Dale Jr.’s brief time on the open market ended with his announcement that he would be joining Hendrick Motorsports (Vlad signs for 2008 with the Yankees with half a season still to play). The rest of the year would include public bickering over who would keep Jr.’s old #8 and other fallout including the firing of 22 year-old Kyle Busch who’s greatest crime is that he wasn’t named Earnhardt. Barry Bonds may soon learn whether or not the crown of the all-time Homerun King will tarnish if it lands in a federal penitentiary. 2007 began with baseball in the foreground and his off-field legal troubles in the background but by the close of the year his fortunes have dramatically reversed. Bonds started the season with 734 homeruns in pursuit of the single most hallowed record in all of American sports. While Barry only appeared in 126 games and he limped along to a .276 batting average his 28 homeruns (762 career) was more than enough to secure his legacy. However his seemingly permanent grand jury finally returned an indictment in the off-season and now the most prolific hitter since Babe Ruth faces federal charges. This is not Pete Rose being banished well after his career had ended or even a Shoeless Joe being banned in his prime. This is one of the two or three statistically greatest hitters in the history of the game being accused of cheating and lying to the government and quite possibly serving jail time for it. Michael Vick went from being a cultural icon and the face of a franchise to federal inmate in a matter of months. If Barry Bonds is Mercury who in his vanity and greed chose to fly to close to the sun then Michael Vick is Achilles who would be immortal if not for one tragic flaw. Vick hadn’t quite lived up to his on the field potential yet and there were rumblings that it was getting to the now or never point of his career but to watch him play was always electric. By the age of 22 he was a pro-bowler, an MVP candidate and the architect of a 27-7 playoff win over the Packers in Green Bay. Teams literally had to rethink the way that they played defense to compensate for his remarkable talents. Michael Vick was the future. I find it disheartening that so much talent would be thrown away and I am a firm believer in second chances. I am sorry for Mike Vick and I do hope that someday he gets another chance on the football field, but nowhere near as sorry as I am for the defenseless animals that were beaten and killed by his doing. Appalachian State’s stunning 34-32 upset of then #5 ranked Michigan kicked off one of the wildest seasons of college football in recent memory. I will let the numbers speak for themselves on this one. Week 6 #2 USC loses, week 7 #1 LSU and #2 Cal lose, week 8 #2 South Florida loses, week 10 #2 BC loses, week 11 #1 Ohio State loses, week 12 #2 Oregon loses, week 13 #1 LSU and #2 Kansas lose, week 14 #1 Missouri and #2 WVU lose. Eight weeks where either #1 or #2 lost including the last 5 weeks and three different weeks in which #1 and #2 lost including the last two weeks of the season. Wow. The New England Patriots started off their season with embarrassment, a firm scolding, fines and a lost draft pick but they seem to have recovered nicely. If the Patriots stumble down the stretch then this story falls into obscurity but if they become the second team to complete a perfect season after talk of having them forfeit game one for cheating then this becomes one for the ages. But the final chapter in that story has yet to be written. As always I can be reached via email at kyrilmitch_76@yahoo.com and past articles and other notes can be found on the web at http://kyrilmitch.googlepages.com/home. Thu, 13 Dec 2007 11:54:22 -0500 kyrilmitch_76 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12138/love-sport-look-back#discuss tag:sportsfilter.com,2002:weblog.12138 sports commentary, 12138 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12136/love-sport-thursday-night It will be nice to sit back and just enjoy the Broncos and the Texans without worrying about a chase for perfection, BCS implications and all of the hype that surrounds so many football games. In a relatively light week on the sports calendar I am drawn to the Thursday night match-up on the NFL network featuring the Denver Broncos (5-7) at the Houston Texans (5-7). Honestly, I am a lifelong Patriots fan and even I get a little tired of all of the hype leading up to Pat’s games every week. It will be nice to sit back and just enjoy a football game without worrying about a chase for perfection, BCS implications and all of the hype that surrounds so many football games. This is simply a game between two teams clinging to very thin playoff hopes (so thin that the teams could be virtually eliminated by kickoff). I should say that it will be a nice game to watch if you happen to get the NFL Network which is available in less than 40% of U.S. homes. I am fortunate that my cable provider even offers a package that includes the network. What’s weird is that as a kid if something was available in 80% of the country it was always safe to assume that in rural New Hampshire we would inevitably end up in that small slice of the country without access. For anyone who has missed this entire feud the NFL Network with the full power of the league behind them wants to be available in every home on the cheapest tier of cable possible. If your channel is available in twice as many homes you can charge a lot more for advertising (think ESPN today). The NFL Network accuses the cable providers of holding their subscribers hostage. Many cable providers, most notably Comcast, have either elected not to carry the network or to carry it on more expensive premium and digital packages in order to recoup their costs. They contend that there is nowhere near the demand to include the network in a basic or extended basic package. What really gets the cable providers riled up is that you have a sports network that carries eight live games over six weeks that is trying to demand to be on par with ESPN or a CNN (think ESPN in 1983 when they were subsisting on USFL games). My amateur opinion is that it is in the best interest of both parties to get the network into as many homes as possible and it is in the best interest of the NFL Network to expand their live coverage. NFL Network could easily uses their clout to pick up some Arena Football games (March through June) or CFL games (June through November). Additionally it would make sense for them to expand the Thursday night football to the full 17 weeks of the season a la Monday Night Football. Exclusive live coverage is their only real bargaining chip and as long as that is limited to 8 games in six weeks the cable providers really do have a good point. As far as the game is concerned the Broncos come into the game 9th in rushing offense, 13th in passing and 8th overall at about 349 yards per game. For a team that is led by a quarterback in his first full season as a starter the Bronco’s offense looks pretty good. What doesn’t look good is the Bronco’s defense, allowing 27.4 points per game (31st in the NFL). They are a very solid 9th in passing yards allowed however they get lit up against the run where they rank 31st resulting in their 27th place ranking in total yards allowed. In the last two weeks Denver has allowed 37 and 34 points to offensive juggernauts Chicago and Oakland (both losses). Effectively you can thank the Bronco’s disastrous defense for making Norv Turner’s train wreck of a team out in San Diego look like a playoff lock. What can you say about the Texans? Well on offense they are led by Matt Schaub at QB, (most famous for being traded) Ron Dayne at HB (most famous for what he did at Wisconsin in college) and Owen Daniels at WR (sorry I got nothing on this guy). In fairness the Texans are 9th in yards per game and 16th in points per game so they are moving the ball. Just call them the not-quite-ready-for-primetime Texans. On Defense the Texans rank 25th in points allowed per game and 21st in yards allowed per game. While the Texans do not excel at any particular aspect of the game they also are not really terrible either. They more or less are spending the season wallowing in mediocrity. In a sense, the Texans in just their sixth season in the NFL are still searching for their identity and even a marketable franchise player (sorry David Carr it just wasn’t working out). At 5-7 they still have an outside chance to finish with the best record in franchise history (8-8 would top their 7-9 mark in 2004). However, with Tampa Bay, Denver, Indianapolis, Jacksonville left on the schedule the Magic Eight Ball says that signs point to no. While 6-10 looks a lot more likely at this point the Texans do seem to be moving in the right direction after a franchise worst 2-14 in 2005. Certainly not the greatest match-up in NFL history but for me it is worth the price of admission. Besides, it is Thursday night what else are you going to watch? As always I can be reached via email for questions, comments and column suggestions at kyrilmitch_76@yahoo.com and I can be found on the web at http://kyrilmitch.googlepages.com/home. Thu, 06 Dec 2007 11:21:15 -0500 kyrilmitch_76 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12136/love-sport-thursday-night#discuss tag:sportsfilter.com,2002:weblog.12136 sports commentary, 12136 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12132/love-sport-sweet-science Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Ricky Hatton will attempt to knock a little bit of the tarnish off of boxing's image on December 8, 2007 when they clash for the WBC welterweight title in Las Vegas. Boxing was at one time quite possibly the most popular sport in this country. Baseball, horse racing and boxing vied for scarce entertainment dollars and as often as not boxing won. Everyone knew who Jack Dempsey was. Its stars were celebrities, legends if you will and fans knew where their champions ate and who they dated. Boxing champions were treated the way that we would treat an A-Rod today. Over the last half century boxing has slowly sold its prestige and respectability for pay per view profit. It has lost the masses and to an extent its respected place in the pantheon of sport. It is a fractured sport that has fallen from the elite realm of the NFL and the NBA to something more on par with UFC and the WWE. “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather Jr. (38-0, 24 KO’s) and Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton (43-0, 31 KO’s) will attempt to knock a little bit of the tarnish off of boxing’s image on December 8, 2007 when they clash for the WBC welterweight title from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Maybe a small part of Boxing’s tarnished image has to do with the occasional Mike Tyson who comes a long and gives the sport another metaphorical black eye. Maybe it’s the shameless promoters who sell any match-up between some two bit has-been and some never will be as the greatest fight since the “Thrilla in Manilla.” Maybe it’s the fact that the sport has four governing bodies and it is virtually impossible to tell who is who in the sport. If you think I am kidding, quick name a current heavyweight champion, it should be easy there are at least four. Boxing has gone 17 years since Mike Tyson was the last universally recognized champion in the Heavyweight division. It is a sport that to some extent has lost its direction. There are still, however, more than a few diamonds scattered throughout boxing’s rough landscape and this fight will have two of those diamonds on display. "Ricky Hatton cannot fight. He throws one punch at a time and then holds. Hatton is the most overrated fighter of the last 25 years."-Floyd Mayweather Jr. Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton, MBE (member of the order of the British Empire, the first step on the road to knighthood, I kid you not) is ranked by Ring Magazine as the 8th best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. For a fighter that is 43-0 Hatton is somewhat lightly regarded. Mayweather is slightly favored to win the match on Vegasinsider.com. However, a short search around their website also led me to discover that the odds makers do not even consider Hatton to be among the top five current welterweights (Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Paul Williams and Antonio Margarito in that order). While 43-0 has to be impressive in any sport I get the distinct impression that boxing experts look at Hatton’s record the way that people look at the University of Hawaii’s record. At 29 years old Hatton has plenty of wins and numerous titles to his credit. What he doesn’t have and what he clearly seems to want is a lasting legacy. Hatton’s notable wins include Kostya Tszyu, an Australian who was heavily favored to beat Hatton, and an over the hill Vincent Phillips. Truth be told, neither of whom I had ever heard of until researching this article. I may be just a casual boxing fan but at least I have heard of Mayweather’s opponents. "There was more action in the four rounds of this fight than Floyd showed in his entire career," Hatton said. “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been rated the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world for the last two years. He has won six titles in five weight classes and his last loss was as an amateur in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics were he ultimately took home a bronze medal. Mayweather has notable victories over Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Carlos Baldomir, and Oscar De La Hoya. Mayweather’s last fight was a PPV gold mine against De La Hoya were Mayweather won a split decision to take the WBC Super Welterweight title which he later vacated. De La Hoya raked in a reported record $58 million for that fight and Mayweather grossed $35 million. The more that I hear about Mayweather the more that I am reminded of Rocky III were Rocky gets all fat and happy and Mister T cleans his clock. $35 million for your last fight, appearance on dancing with the stars, vacillating on retirement you get the idea. Mayweather will turn 31 in February so he may be past his prime but I wouldn’t exactly say that he is to far down the backside of the mountain. It is an interesting match-up any way you look at it because both fighters are legitimate title-holders and undefeated over lengthy careers. Is Mayweather to far past his prime? Is Hatton a pretender whose career has been carefully orchestrated to avoid fights like this? Only time will tell, and only the very limited number of people willing to shell out the money for an HBO pay per view title fight will see it live. Whatever you may think about the fight or boxing in general, I just may drop the $50 to watch the fight on Pay Per View and someone is going to pay the advertised price of $9,273 for fifth row center ringside seats at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. I guess boxing is still grabbing some of those entertainment dollars after all. Quotes from Hatton and Mayweather taken from ESPN.com, additional background information from Wikipedia.org and Vegasinsider.com. As always I can be reached via email for questions, comments and column suggestions at kyrilmitch_76@yahoo.com and I can be found on the web at http://kyrilmitch.googlepages.com/home. Thu, 29 Nov 2007 06:24:54 -0500 kyrilmitch_76 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12132/love-sport-sweet-science#discuss tag:sportsfilter.com,2002:weblog.12132 sports commentary, 12132 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12131/love-sport-im-thankful The Army Navy game on Saturday December 1st in Baltimore is one of the all-time greatest rivalries in sport but it is so much more than that. Given that today is Thanksgiving and I am a firm believer in taking pause to reflect on all of that for which you are thankful, my column choice was easy. When I wrote my first column back in September my stated purpose was to try to find and discuss that compelling match-up, under-reported event, human interest story, or just the game that I plan on watching. A lot of times I have found that the most interesting game is in fact “the big game” but that is not always the case. With NCAA football reaching a fever pitch, the NFL working into the second half of the season, and the NHL, NBA, and NCAA basketball all underway there are no shortage of games from which to choose for this week’s article. Given that today is Thanksgiving and I am a firm believer in taking pause to reflect on all of that for which you are thankful, my choice was easy. The Army Navy game on Saturday December 1st in Baltimore is one of the all-time greatest rivalries in sport but it is so much more than that. First to clarify, on a basic sports level this game is virtually meaningless. Navy at 7-4 will undoubtedly be going to a bowl regardless of the outcome of this game and Army (3-8) would probably need a 20 game schedule in order to have enough wins to be bowl eligible. This game is important because of the great rivalry. This is the only game on the schedule that matters to these two teams and the millions of fans, alumni, soldiers and sailors who will root for their team. On a deeper level it is difficult to explain the significance of this game. Less than a month after Veteran’s Day and not long after Thanksgiving we are given the opportunity to think about all of the soldiers and sailors who do the things that we either can’t do or choose not to do. They spend day after day living the war metaphors that we so casually assign to the game of football. Their battles really are won in the trenches, they fight to gain every inch of turf, and yes sometimes they are called on to take one for the team paying the ultimate sacrifice so that you and I can enjoy the freedom to eat turkey and talk about football. Their courage allows us to be free. “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” – Ambrose Redmoon The point of this is not to bring you down and have you feel sorry for our soldiers and sailors. As an eight-year Army veteran I can tell you, all that I ever wanted from civilians is that you enjoy and appreciate the freedoms that you have. Go to school, vote, protest do whatever you want, just appreciate the rights and freedoms that you have. Every once in a while pause and remember who helped to give you those rights. Thank your grandfather who served in the Pacific or your uncle who served in Vietnam and maybe the kid in uniform at the airport. They will appreciate it and they will be happy to know that you appreciate it. Appreciate that you have the simple pleasure of sitting down to watch a more-or-less meaningless football game in the comfort of your own home. In the Mitchell family one of my grandfathers, my dad and my brother (currently) served in the Navy; while my other grandfather, an uncle, my wife and I all served in the Army. Our loyalties are divided and you better believe that even though not everyone in my family is a sports fan you’ll hear about it if your service loses the game. The game itself doesn’t really show how soldiers live or what they believe. Basically it’s a game played by young student-athletes who have really just begun their military service. The story to me is really in the people watching the game. People have answered the Nation’s call since a little group of colonies said, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Beautiful words but just words on the page if not for the people who would leave the comfort of their home and fight and die from Valley Forge to Fallujah. "I think you could play this in a parking lot. It doesn't matter," Army coach Stan Brock said. "People make a big deal about home field, and this is a lot closer to them than it is to us, but once you put your hand in the dirt and the game starts, it doesn't matter where you are." - David Ginsburg AP Sports Writer I don’t think that anyone could say it any better than that. A Happy Thanksgiving to all and best wishes to all of our service men and women serving around the globe. I am thankful for your service and I pray for your speedy and safe return. I can be reached via email at kyrilmitch_76@yahoo.com. Quote from David Ginsburg’s article taken from Yahoo.com and a minor housekeeping note this article will now come out on Thursdays in the Column section of Sportsfilter and on my website. Go Army! Thu, 22 Nov 2007 08:32:37 -0500 kyrilmitch_76 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12131/love-sport-im-thankful#discuss tag:sportsfilter.com,2002:weblog.12131 sports commentary, 12131 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12128/love-sport-final-lap While it is obviously possible for Gordon to win the title, the question is does he have any realistic chance? NASCAR has their final race of the season on Sunday the 18th at 3:45 pm at Homestead-Miami Speedway. There are just two drivers who still have a chance at taking home the Nextel Cup points title. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon will have six titles between them after Sunday’s race. The only question is whether the leader Johnson will take home his second or will Gordon overcome a sizable deficit to win his fifth title. First to set the stage mathematically Jimmie Johnson has an 86 point lead. The most points that Jeff Gordon can accumulate on Sunday is 195, that is 185 for the win, 5 points for leading a lap, and another 5 if he were to lead the most laps in the race. Johnson therefore needs 110 points to clinch the title (196 to clinch minus the 86 point lead that he already has) and he can accomplish that in a few different way. If Johnson finishes any better than 18th place he owns the title (112 points for 17th). If Johnson leads at least one lap (which is highly likely since he starts on the pole) then 19th place would do it (106 points for 19th plus 5 for 1 lap lead). Or if Johnson were to somehow lead the most laps in the race and then fall somewhere back in the pack then 21st place would do it (100 points for 21st plus 5 for leading a lap and another 5 for leading the most laps). While it is obviously possible for Gordon to win the title, the question is does he have any realistic chance? I can tell you with some certainty that Jeff Gordon has a 2.9% chance of winning the title. A brief aside on probability: The probability of taking the ace out of [a suit of cards] is 1/13: now it being very plain that the taking or not taking the ace out of the first heap has no influence in the taking or not taking the ace out of the second;…those two events being independent the probability of their both happening will be 1/13 x 1/13 = 1/169 – Doctrine of Chance, Abraham de Moivre In plainer English what that means is that the odds of Gordon winning the title can best be expressed as the odds of Gordon doing really well multiplied by the odds of Jimmie Johnson laying an egg. Thomas Bayes would later provide later more insight as to how you can more accurately determine the odds of each independent event but let’s face it I’m not that educated so let’s stick to simple probability. Jeff Gordon has won 6 of 35 events this year netting him at least 190 points in each race, so the odds of him doing really well can be represented as 6/35 or .1714. Coincidentally, Jimmie Johnson has performed poorly in 6 of 35 events netting him 100 points or less (again 6/35 or .1714). Obviously the combination of these two events would allow Gordon to make up his 86 point gap and win the title (probability of A times probability of B equals probability of both). .1714 x .1714 = .0293 So like I said, there is a 2.9 % chance of Gordon winning the title (who says NASCAR fans are a bunch of backwoods hicks). For anyone who doesn’t find math the least bit interesting, you’re probably asleep by now. When you wake up you may be interested in knowing that if there is a crazy big crash involving Jimmie Johnson then this Gordon guy has a pretty good shot at winning the title since he drives so fast and all. Gordon and Johnson are the class of the current NASCAR crop and with Gordon 36 years old and Johnson just 32 these two drivers could easily go at it for another ten years. Talent is certainly not a problem and as both drivers race for the deep-pocketed Hendrick Motorsports having the latest technology and equipment is par for the course. Only in NASCAR can you have a rivalry where the rivals are on the same team. Anything can happen in a NASCAR race. Low percentages don’t necessarily mean impossible odds because as I like to point out at 190 miles per hour anything can happen. If Tim Duncan accidentally runs in to the goalpost in game seven of the NBA finals it would not negate a 35 point lead for the Spurs. Jimmie Johnson doesn’t have that luxury. One wrong turn, one bad pass by a rookie long out of contention, or one catastrophic error on pit row can undo an entire season of work. Or as the ESPN promos say every lap counts. In the Chase for the Nextel Cup perhaps more so than in any other sport it truly isn’t over until the fat lady sings. People who think that NASCAR is a backwoods sport not worthy of watching can reach me via email at kyrilmitch_76@yahoo.com with concerns, comments and complaints. Information on Abraham de Moivre and Thomas Bayes was found in Probability and Statistics by John Tabak Ph. D. Sat, 17 Nov 2007 10:14:01 -0500 kyrilmitch_76 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12128/love-sport-final-lap#discuss tag:sportsfilter.com,2002:weblog.12128 sports commentary, 12128 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12126/love-sport-rivalry This game is a classic rivalry, it will determine the Big Ten title, and by establishing a Big Ten champion it will punch at least one BCS ticket. Many would argue that the most interesting match-up this week is quite possibly the greatest rivalry in all of sports. I would definitely put the annual Big Ten finale between Michigan and Ohio State in the top ten but I personally wouldn’t have them at number one (a little more on that later). It is easily; however, the most interesting match-up of the week and quite possibly the most interesting in the college football season thus far. This game is a classic rivalry, it will determine the Big Ten title, and by establishing a Big Ten champion it will punch at least one BCS ticket. Additionally it is a match-up between two teams who have won at least eight straight games and if Ohio State beats Illinois on November 10th than Michigan becomes the last hurdle between OSU and a second consecutive chance at the national championship game. If Michigan can upset OSU than they would get the BCS game, in spite of starting their season off with the now infamous loss to 1-AA Appalachian State, regardless of how they do against Wisconsin. After a bit of research on where some other writers and websites rank this rivalry I felt that it would be a nice subplot to weigh in with my top ten greatest rivalries (let the debates begin): 10. Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns. This classic features two rabid fan bases separated by less than 100 miles. 9. Richard Petty vs. Cale Yarborough. Most people know that Petty won 200 times but people forget that Yarborough is fifth all-time with 84 wins and ran a lot of his career against Petty. 8. Celtics vs. Lakers. The stature of this rivalry is only tempered by the fact that these franchises were only great at the same time for about ten years. 7. Ali vs. Frazier. Cotta / Mosley can only wish that they had the fire of these two guys. 6. Palmer vs. Nicklaus. In my opinion two of the three greatest golfers that ever lived went head to head week after week for several years. 5. Cowboys vs. Redskins. This one is quite simply the best in the NFL. 4. UNC vs. Duke. The energy of these games is freakish. If only they played other sports. 3. Red Sox vs. Yankees. The 100 year rivalry was looking pretty one-sided for a long time but the Sox always made it a battle even in the lean years. 2. Ohio State vs. Michigan. This is a classic conference rivalry that also manages to consistently find itself on the national stage. 1. Army vs. Navy. This rivalry goes so far beyond sports its hard to put into words. Men and women serving around the globe take pause where they can and try to catch this game. Dodgers/Giants, Packers/Bears, Alabama/Auburn; there are probably another half dozen or so that could easily fit into a thoughtful top ten. Everyone has their own bias that would cause them to put this one in or leave that one out. I spent eight years in the Army and I am a lifelong Red Sox fan so my bias is obvious (if you don’t like it make your own list). The point is that no matter where you are from there is a good chance that the Michigan/Ohio State rivalry is somewhere on your list. The thing that separates a lot of college rivalries from say Cowboys/Redskins is that college is a student’s whole life; classes, job and evening entertainment. Those colors and that team become for many a reflection of who they are. More than that, many college rivalries date back more than a hundred years, predating the very existence of the NBA, NHL and NFL. Given the way in which the NCAA crowns their champ every game is crucial on the path to greatness. So effectively you are combining an absolute must win game with a hundred years of bad blood and the event is attended by 100,000 or so rabid fans who’s entire life revolves around their university. I think that just about sums it up. As far as this game is concerned Michigan leads the all-time series 57-40-6. After the stunning upset at the hands of 1-AA Appalachian State (I am still boycotting the new bowl submarine terminology or whatever it is) Michigan went on to get manhandled by #3 ranked Oregon. With two home losses in their first two games any dreams Michigan had of a national title were gone two weeks before the official end of summer. With only two ranked opponents, a highly talented team, and just four road games the Wolverines really had the stars aligned to make a run at the title. Now in order to salvage their season it all comes back to the Ohio State game. A final note on Michigan, while Mike Hart gets all of the press and glory keep an eye on OT Jake Long (who opens up many of those running lanes). Long is projected by some to go as high as number one in the NFL draft depending on where the Rams ultimately select. For Ohio State this game is déjà vu all over again. Just as last year, they can enter the game undefeated and #1 in the country. Unlike last year not to many people expected them to be in this position. In the game last year Ohio State jumped out to a 28-14 half-time lead but had to survive a second half Michigan surge in order to hold on for the 42-39 victory and maintain their perfect record. Ohio State has junior Todd Boeckman at quarterback who prior to this season had thrown just 10 collegiate passes. Boeckman has matured rapidly passing for 1965 yards 23 touchdowns and just 8 interceptions. Michigan expected greatness and failed to deliver while OSU has delivered greatness in spite of expectations. I expect this game to add one more chapter to a historic rivalry. I can be reached via email at kyrilmitch_76@yahoo.com. Sat, 10 Nov 2007 09:27:28 -0500 kyrilmitch_76 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12126/love-sport-rivalry#discuss tag:sportsfilter.com,2002:weblog.12126 sports commentary, 12126 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12125/love-sport-chasing-perfection And then there was one. New England travels to Indianapolis and only one team makes it out of the weekend with their perfect record intact. So last week I had a difficult time stumbling through a column previewing the Celtics season. I was disappointed with the final product so I didn’t feel it was worthy of a posting to Sportsfilter but I did post it to my own website. I also noticed that this is the third week in a row (and the fifth time in 10 columns) that my subject has focused on a New England team. In fairness the Patriots are playing the best football anyone has seen in a long time and the Sox did just win the World Series so I think that my selections are justified. However, I have looked at the sports calendar a few weeks out and I can promise that after this column no articles about New England teams for at least four weeks. This week on the other hand 8-0 New England Patriots at the 7-0 defending Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts (November 4th at 4:15) is kind of a no-brainer. For those that are upset that I chose not to preview the November 6th match-up between Central Michigan and Western Michigan I can be reached via email at kyrilmitch_76@yahoo.com. At about the midpoint of the season the Colts and Pats have very clearly established that they are the class of the NFL. I think that it would probably also be fair to say that it would be at least a little surprising to see anyone other than these two teams representing the AFC in the Super Bowl. The only other popular preseason selection was the Chargers and at 4-3 and after being embarrassed by the Patriots 38-14 earlier in the year I think we can cross the Chargers off the short list. I would point to November 11th on the calendar for any San Diego fans who are still holding their collective breath. A win over the Colts would re-establish the Chargers as a legitimate contender in my mind but that is pretty speculative at this point. As for the game at hand, this is the latest in the regular season that two undefeated teams have met making this a highly anticipated regular season match-up. However, it is still just that, a highly anticipated regular season match-up. The winner of this game does not win an all expense paid trip to the Super Bowl. I will watch intently and root for my team, but the victor only gets regular season bragging rights for about two months. It is almost inevitable that these two teams will meet again in the playoffs and both teams are an awful long way from matching the 1972 Dolphins, the only unbeaten, untied NFL Champions. This particular match-up is in Indianapolis so I will start with the Colts. By the numbers Indianapolis is 7-0 and they are beating their opponents by an average margin of 32.0 to 14.6. Their offense puts up 399.0 yards per game (3rd in the NFL) while their defense is holding the opposition to 272.9 yards per game (4th in the NFL). Their last game was a 31-7 win on the road against the NFC South leading Carolina Panthers (let me reiterate that the Colts just beat the snot out of a likely NFC playoff team). The key offensive weapon to this game is the emergence of Joseph Addai. In six games this season (he missed the week 5 game against Tampa Bay) Addai has rushed for 592 yards and 7 touchdowns. While the Pat’s run defense has been fair, they have been so far ahead in games that opponents have been forced to abandon the run game early. Since I would expect this game to be fairly close I would also expect Addai’s performance to be a big factor in determining the winner. Watch to see if the Pats pull guys out of the box to compensate for Manning’s tremendous talent and what this means to Addai. One last number on Indianapolis, if ever a team wanted something to hang on the locker room wall for motivation they need look no further than the Vegas odds. How insulted would you be if you were the defending champs playing at home and you were expected to lose by 6 points? Of course given the fact that New England is not only 8-0 but they are also 8-0 against the spread, perhaps the Colts are less concerned with righteous indignation and more concerned with preparing for the juggernaut that is the New England Patriots. New England has beaten their opponents by an average of 41.4 to 15.9 and they have beaten the spread by an average of over 14 points per game. Their closest contest of the season was a 34-17 win over Cleveland that was a 10 point game until a Browns’ late game fumble was returned for a TD. New England’s 439.5 yards of offense is 1st in the NFL while their 268.5 yards allowed on defense is 3rd. The Patriots last win was the 52-7 romp against the Redskins JV team on October 28th (note to future Patriots opponents: if you are opposed to the Pats running up the score either a. play defense or b. break Tom Brady’s throwing arm because I don’t think that you are going to get any help from Belichick). Both defenses are very solid and both offenses are amazing. They are two teams who have met several times in recent history so there is definitely an air of familiarity to this contest. The Patriots are playing like a team with something to prove but no matter how you try and spin this one the Colts are still the defending champs, they won the last head-to-head match-up and they are playing at home. One team will lose and the other will continue to chase those 1972 Dolphins. Sat, 03 Nov 2007 13:07:33 -0400 kyrilmitch_76 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12125/love-sport-chasing-perfection#discuss tag:sportsfilter.com,2002:weblog.12125 sports commentary, 12125 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12122/love-sport-fall-classic A brief look at the Series ahead and some favorite memories of World Series past. I know that normally I have made this a Saturday column but I figured I could make an exception for the World Series. I actually could have written the article for Saturday morning but it would have been a largely useless analysis of an Indians versus Rockies series that never quite materialized. Somewhere Eric Wedge is still waiting for that fourth win but he has a young and talented team and they’ll be back. The Major League Baseball season is a marathon not a sprint. The baseball calendar consists of four months of off-season maneuvering, followed by a month of spring training, followed by a six month 162-game behemoth of a regular season and then a month of playoffs. All of it leading to this event, every boy’s backyard dream, the most perfect stage in sports, this is the World Series. The Colorado Rockies earned their first trip to the World Series in their fifteenth year of existence by sweeping the Arizona Diamondbacks 4 games to 0. The Red Sox, however, captured their 12th American League Pennant after a hard fought battle that went seven games with the Indians. The Red Sox then known as the Americans played in the first World Series played in 1903. They beat the heavily favored Pirates 5 games to 3. The 1904 NL champion NY Giants were so concerned about the potential for embarrassment that they refused to play against the repeat champion Boston Americans. It wasn’t until 1905 that the two leagues could smooth out their differences and formalize the event settling on the best of seven format that we use today instead of the best of nine used in that first series (the series from 1919-1921 also used the best-of-nine format). The World Series has had heroes and goats, villains and scandals. Either from watching a game live, or on TV, reading an article or a history book for that matter we all have a World Series moment. When Joe Carter hit the walk-off homerun to end the 1993 series it seemed like the greatest series moment ever, but Bill Mazeroski had done the exact same thing to end the 1960 series. Then there was the 1975 series (certainly one of, if not the greatest ever) with Carlton Fisk waiving the ball fair in the 12th inning of game 6 to force a game 7, where Sox fans were once again left broken-hearted. Any Yankees fan worth his salt would have to make a case for Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 series. Larsen hadn’t gotten out of the 2nd inning in game 2 (a 13-8 Yankees loss) but when Casey Stengel called on Larsen to start in game five of a series tied at two games apiece Larsen provided a literally perfect performance. If I had to pick one series above all others for me it would have to be 2004 but for no other reason than that the Sox are my team. I actually saw written somewhere that it was the worst series ever, and after the initial shock wore off I realized that for anyone but a Sox fan it was kind of lousy. Boston jumped out to a 7-2 lead by the end of the third inning in the first game and held on for an 11-9 win, in the final three games of the sweep St. Louis scored just three runs. Outside of a fans rooting interest I have always loved the story of the 1919 Black Sox. A team that got their moniker because their owner was so cheap that he tried to charge the players to launder their uniforms (they refused the service hence the name). After Joe Jackson took the money he went on to play error free-ball, batted .375 and hit the only homerun for either team in the series. Will the Red Sox bring the team that unloaded on the Indians 30-5 over the last three games of the ALCS or will they show up with the team that allowed almost 7 runs per game on their way to a 3-1 series deficit in the ALCS? To use a line that should have been said by Yogi Berra, the Sox are a pretty good team when they’re playing well. That is to say they have had a solid bullpen, reliable starters and a great lineup from top to bottom. They also spent a solid two months in August and September trying to undo four months of great baseball. Perhaps the Red Sox should remind themselves now that they don’t play these games on paper. It’s a series that as usual is full of questions and the answers are usually not exactly the ones that you would expect. Who will be the hero and while that man becomes a hero who from the other team will let a legion of fans down? It is pretty hard to argue with the Rockies chances but the odds makers apparently have the Red Sox as 2-1 favorites. Perhaps the odds makers have short enough memories that they forgot that these Rockies have won 21 of their last 22 games. Are the Rockies still the hottest team ever to hit the playoffs or will eight straight days off and one freak snowstorm cool their fire? So where will this series stack up? There isn’t any sense in telling you who I am rooting for but just remember who I am cheering for shouldn’t be mistaken for a prediction. You won’t get any predictions out of me (I am very superstitious about messing with my teams especially after I picked the Patriots to win the 1986 Superbowl). You can always reach me via email at kyrilmitch_76@yahoo.com with questions and comments. Mon, 22 Oct 2007 17:17:45 -0400 kyrilmitch_76 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12122/love-sport-fall-classic#discuss tag:sportsfilter.com,2002:weblog.12122 sports commentary, 12122 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/9207/max-mcgee-unexpected-hero-super-bowl-i McGee had caught only four passes for 91 yards during the 1966 regular season and, not expecting to play against the Chiefs, violated the team's curfew and spent the night before the game partying. Sun, 21 Oct 2007 13:42:57 -0400 kyrilmitch_76 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/9207/max-mcgee-unexpected-hero-super-bowl-i#discuss tag:sportsfilter.com,2002:weblog.9207 sports football, 9207 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12120/high-school-glory If you were looking for in-depth analysis of the LCS you probably weren't looking to me anyway. On Thursday October 18th at 8pm I will be watching a high school football game between Cy-Fair, Texas and Cypress Falls, Texas. It would have been late September of 1993. The days were getting shorter and the 60 degree air would have felt slightly chilly after the long hot days of summer had ended. I had grown six inches between the end of football season my junior year and the start of football my senior year. I had been moved at the start of camp from running back where I had spent my first three years to split end and then at this point of the season I was moved again and named the starting tight end. I was told of the switch after classes had ended one Monday and we had a game that Friday night, so I had just four days of practice and three days of contact to learn an entirely new position. I was thrilled, I was a starter and as I stood there on the practice field out behind the school I could smell the freshly cut grass faintly behind the heavy stench of honest work. By the midpoint of that season as I stood there I knew that I wasn’t going to attend the one college that had expressed any interest in me as a football player and I had a pretty good idea that this team wasn’t destined for the playoffs. I had just four games left in a football uniform and then at seventeen I would hang up the cleats for good. What does all of this have to do with my weekly column you ask? On Thursday October 18th at 8pm I will be watching a game between Cy-Fair, Texas and Cypress Falls, Texas on ESPN2. Texas High School football and I can watch from the comfort of my own home. Houston area high school football would definitely fall in the category of games that are under the radar. Obviously, I will also be watching the MLB league championship series throughout the week as well but if you are any kind of sports fan you probably have already heard enough about how the Red Sox are heavily favored and what a great story about those Rockies, and don’t underestimate Eric Wedge and the Indians. Did you know Wedge is a frontrunner for AL manager of the year? Blah, blah, blah those articles have already been written by people a lot more knowledgeable than I. If you were looking for in-depth analysis of the LCS you probably weren’t looking to me. I have no particular rooting interest in either of these teams; Texas is actually one of the states that I have never been to. I am watching this game basically for the love of sports to steal my own line. The game will be played in the 11,000 seat Berry Center which serves as the home field to several Houston area schools. The stadium was also the sight of last year’s Cypress Falls 22-21 victory over Cy-Fair according to the Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District website. If you are looking for star power than I can give you one name; Cy-Fair Running back, Sam McGuffie is listed on the ESPN 150 Watch List as the 98th best prospect in the country and while Rivals.com does not have him in their top 100 they do have him as the #12 prospect in the state of Texas. McGuffie is listed at 6’ 188 pounds and he runs a 4.32 forty yard dash. While none of that sounds particularly impressive for a future division 1-A tailback, I would suggest you google “McGuffie Mixtape” and watch the 6 minute highlight video on YouTube that someone put together on this kid. He has been sidelined with injuries most of this season but as a junior last year he rushed for 3,121 yards and 43 touchdowns (and no that is not a typo) and he should be playing in this game. The Michigan commit is an absolute freak, don’t take my word for it, just watch the video. High school sports are what fans often think of as the beginning of an athlete like McGuffie’s career but for the vast majority of us that homecoming game your senior year is your swan song and when you play that final home game of the season then that just may be the last time in your life that the work that you do will be greeted with applause. To say that the beauty of high school sports is the innocence of it is not quite right. If you want athletes that are completely innocent I recommend the Little League World Series, even when there is a scandal the kid involved is still probably an unwitting victim. Every kid in Williamsport wants to grow up to play first base for the Yankees or to be President. Unfortunately, we only have one President and the Yankees only have 3 first baseman (yes, that is a subtle jab at the Yankees) so a lot of those kids are going to be disappointed some day. No, to me the beauty of high school sports is the way the kids play with a true sense of urgency. For a lot of these kids there is no career as a million things could go wrong along the way. For me it was the ever tragic complete lack of talent. The point is that by high school some of these young men have started to realize that the dream may not come true and that is what makes these games all the more important. And as for the rare athlete like McGuffie who has a legitimate chance of making a living playing a game, well he still has a long we to go and we as fans have a chance to say that we saw him way back when. As always I look forward to either column suggestions or general feedback and I can be reached via email at kyrilmitch_76@yahoo.com. Sat, 13 Oct 2007 09:12:32 -0400 kyrilmitch_76 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12120/high-school-glory#discuss tag:sportsfilter.com,2002:weblog.12120 sports commentary, 12120 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12118/love-sport-like-sports-only a brief look at the Boston Bruins and the new NHL season. Just in case anyone missed my column last week all that I can say is that it turns out Oklahoma does not in fact have the best chance of going undefeated and punching a ticket to the BCS National Title game. For the record it doesn’t say column by Nostradamus. In my defense I would still contend that they are a very good football team but that is actually the same backhanded compliment that I paid to Texas. So in the interest of not making myself look like an idiot two weeks in a row this week I promise no predictions. Since the second full week of the NHL season happens to be a lighter one in the world of sports that gives me a chance to catch up with the Boston Bruins, who are like a lot of other NHL hockey teams only without the talented players. Perhaps I sound a bit cynical but that’s really for two reasons; first I can remember when the Bruins had guys like Andy Moog, Adam Oates and Cam Neely (forget guys like Bobby Orr) and second I am cynical. Angry Bruins fans can be reach me via email at kyrilmitch_76@yahoo.com but finish reading the article before you write ok. The fundamental problem with the NHL is that with very little national media coverage and limited television exposure the NHL is really becoming more of a regional game. If a fan wants to follow the game they need to either root, root, root for the home team or go to great lengths to try and follow other teams. Last night (admittedly while focusing most of my attention on the two baseball playoff games) I was actually watching the Penguins get beaten so badly that I kept waiting for PETA to show up and protest. The novel thing is that I was watching the game via a free yahoo feed in a two inch square on my computer. It almost gave me the feeling that I had as a kid when on a clear summer night I could pick up some faraway baseball game on the radio. The Bruins opened up the regular season with a four to one loss on the road against the Dallas Stars. One thing that I will say is a definite improvement for the Bruins going into the season is the addition of Manny Fernandez at goalie. Last year the Bruins relied heavily on Tim Thomas, also seeing time were four other guys that no one has ever heard of. Fernandez posted a record of 52-34 in 98 starts over the last two years with Minnesota and he has a career goals against average of 2.47. The Bruins as a team have only won 64 games combined over the last two seasons en route to back-to-back 13th place finishes in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately, the problem for the B’s is that losing games three or four to one really isn’t any better than losing games five or six to one. I poke fun at Tim Thomas but he should prove to be a very serviceable backup to Fernandez giving the Bruins one less position to worry about. The addition of Fernandez should help in the long run but from thirteenth place the addition of Sonja Henie would probably help. Now that the Bruins have managed to shore up the goalie position they really only have two problems to worry about, offense and defense. They lack any sort of firepower to score consistently and the defense has trouble keeping people out of the zone. Just to illustrate the point the Bruins top three scorers last year had totals of 96, 70 and 45 points, and their leading goal scorer had just 28 goals. To me however, the big picture statistic in hockey is not the goals and assists that people often talk about, the Moneyball stat in hockey has to be the +/- ratio. The easiest way to explain +/- is to say the number of goals that your team scores when you are on the as it relates to the number of goals that your team allows while you are on the ice. That is where you separate the good teams from the bad. Ottawa, for example, had 10 players with a +10 or better rating en route to the Stanley Cup finals whereas the Bruins had no player over +10 and only two players who were + anything (Mark Stuart who in 15 games played was a +7 and Brandon Bochenski who in 31 games was a +3). Everyone else on the team was a 0 or worse including those three top scorers (Marc Savard, 22 goals, 74 assists, 96 points, -19; Patrice Bergeron 22g, 48a, 70p, -28; and Glen Murray 28g, 17a, 45p, -12). Hockey produces some of the best, and I must say the most die-hard, sports fans. Just yesterday I read two great articles on Sportsfilter and quite a bit of discussion suggesting the idea of implementing relegation in the NHL. I think that that is exactly the sort of radical spark that the NHL needs to bring the mainstream media back to their product, that and firing whoever is in charge of their Marketing Department. So the point of this article isn’t really that you should all go out and try to watch the Bruins get the piss kicked out of them. The point is that somewhere you have an NHL team or an AHL team for that matter. They might be great or they might be kind of lousy but they’re your team so get to know them. And remember, the NHL is a lot like the other sports you know only colder. Sat, 06 Oct 2007 13:15:33 -0400 kyrilmitch_76 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12118/love-sport-like-sports-only#discuss tag:sportsfilter.com,2002:weblog.12118 sports commentary, 12118 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12114/love-sport-sooners-stake-claim Make no mistake the bellwether game for Oklahoma this year is this Texas game. Honestly I wanted to write a baseball playoff preview but you really can’t do that until a bunch of slightly better than .500 NL teams get around to clinching their playoff spots, c’est la vie. So that left me considering two NCAA football top-10 match-ups. While #4 Florida at #2 LSU is certainly a compelling game, more than anything else I am looking forward to see if #3 Oklahoma is as good as I think that they are. The Sooners travel to Dallas and take on #7 Texas at the Cotton Bowl. Angry fans of LSU, Florida, Texas and the Milwaukee Brewers can reach me via email at kyrilmitch_76@yahoo.com. Let’s get one thing out of the way right now. In preparing to write this column and reviewing all of the BCS standings, Bob Stoops career, the SEC schedules, and all of the little things that I never really appreciated went into writing a 1,000 word article I really had one question above all others. What the hell does Boomer Sooner mean? So I looked it up and I quote from www.soonersports.com where they have a section entitled Sooner Tradition. Boomers were settlers who favored the opening of unassigned lands in the Oklahoma Territory…At high noon on April 22, 1889, legal aspirants would be able to enter the Oklahoma Territory and choose 160 acres of land…One of the few rules to claiming a lot of land was that all participants were to start at the same time. Those who went to soon were called “Sooners”. As time went on, “Sooner” came to be a synonym of progressivism. So now that we have cleared that up I am expecting Oklahoma to manhandle Colt McCoy and the Longhorns and show the nation that they are indeed ready to stake some sort of claim to the BCS title game. While the Boise States of the world wonder that if they go undefeated is their schedule strong enough to carry them to a BCS game the true college football elite just have to survive their schedules. There is always the chance of having the same convoluted mess that the BCS usually provides, however with the schedules being what they are I don’t see a 1-loss SEC team in the title game this year. I know that it is still pretty early in the season to be picking title games but I see USC with two major tests in Oregon and Cal and Oklahoma with two in Texas and a probable Big 12 title game against Nebraska. I expect both Florida and LSU to stumble at some point in their very difficult schedules leaving a wide open path for USC and Oklahoma to go undefeated. Make no mistake the bellwether game for Oklahoma this year is this Texas game. Of course if you are a Longhorn fan this is your big chance to shut up critics and amateur hacks (such as myself) by defeating a legitimate top flight opponent. Be forewarned the Surgeon General has issued a warning that UT Fans should not hold their breath waiting for a win as this could be hazardous to their health. Oklahoma has been abusing opponents in ways that would make Bill Belichick jealous. Let’s talk about defense first because I am a firm believer in the old adage that defense wins championships. Oklahoma is allowing the 5th fewest yards and the 8th fewest points per game in the country. While they haven’t had to face anyone in the top 25 yet they destroyed a 3-1 Miami team that is probably just outside the top 25 (after their win over Texas A&M) and unloaded on a 2-1 Tulsa team. Oklahoma’s defense paints a picture of old school smash mouth football, a time when teams ground you into submission on their way to a 13-7 win. However, their offense is as modern day as they come, leading the nation in points scored and 3rd in yards per game. Oklahoma is averaging 61.5 points per game while putting up 562 yards per game of offense. If 562 yards per game is a little tough to wrap your head around that’s 310 yards passing (a little better than wide open Florida who averages 280 ypg) and 252 yards rushing (which pretty much trails Navy, West Virginia and a couple of other schools who are still unaware of the rules change allowing the forward pass). Bob Stoops has done phenomenal things since he walked on to the Oklahoma campus. He is 86-19 as head coach and is in his ninth season. He has lead them to eight straight bowl games, five BCS bowl game appearances, four Big 12 titles and oh yeah one national title. Not a bad resume for a coach and a program that often seems to be flying under the radar. Also under Stoops tenure an OU player has finished in the top 7 of the Heisman balloting five times. The University of Texas is a very good football team, which I guess, is a polite way of saying that they are not a great football team. Last season Colt McCoy set the NCAA record for TD passes by a freshman and tied the UT record for TD passes in a season. He truly has a chance to develop into one of the great college quarterbacks of our time. For all of the good that you can say about McCoy he does also have 5 interceptions in four games (2 against Arkansas State and another against UCF, two cupcakes that UT beat by a total of 11 points). Next year they may make a run at the BCS title game but I honestly don’t believe that their time has quite arrived. Sat, 29 Sep 2007 07:06:25 -0400 kyrilmitch_76 http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/12114/love-sport-sooners-stake-claim#discuss tag:sportsfilter.com,2002:weblog.12114 sports commentary, 12114